Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba

Located directly next door to the BCIT Downtown Campus, Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba knows exactly who they are and owns every bit of what they serve.

I'm not gonna lie, everything about my first visit here was great! Friendly and efficient service, tasty food, solid portion sizes, welcoming atmosphere, and comfortable seating were my takeways from this visit and I'll definitely be coming back to try the other options on the menu. For my first visit, I ordered the zenbu mazesoba and added a chashu rice bowl to make it a combo which saved me about $1.00 as opposed to getting these items separately. While I was pretty hungry and hadn't had any breakfast prior to this meal, I can say without a doubt that the portions here are on point. You will leave full and satisfied 9/10 times if not every time. Just Google some pics and you'll understand it's not hard to see why. Various ingredients on top of warm udon noodles that all work so harmoniously makes for a great meal any time of day.

One of the only downside to eating out here is the pricing. The $25.00 two-item meal I had definitely outweighs any ramen meal you'll find in downtown. It's also important to note that that's just for edibles as I didn't order any drinks other than water for my visit. I intentionally wanted to focus on the food. After leaving the restaurant satisfied, I'm sure I could do without ordering a drink for future visits.

Another small downside was that the chashu for both my mazesoba and the rice bowl were a bit under temperature. I would have liked a warm pork belly to just melt in my mouth during the meal, but it was still really tasty, just a bit cold.

This was my first mazesoba experience ever. Needless to say, I'll be watching out for this category of Japanese food that was previously unknown to me throughout Vancouver, but until then I'll probably be coming back here at least once a month from now on.

Stopped by at 6pm on Monday and ordered for takeout. Very excited to try Mazesoba at this place that I wanted to try for a while. I have tried Taiwan Mazesoba in Japan and loved it except for the extra spiciness I wrongly chose.

Kokoro has both Mazesoba and ramen. I asked for suggestion as this is my first time here. The most popular according to the staff are Zenbu, Niku and Mentaiko cream. I chose Niku as it seemed standard with all the ingredients that should be in Mazesoba. And I asked if spicy is really spicy. The staff said it's pretty spicy but what's spicy is the minced pork. I chose spicy!

The soba here is pretty thick in between ramen noodles and udon noodles. All the ingredients mixed together with thick noodles was heavenly good! I don't know exactly know what are in there, I could taste the spicy pork, seaweed, cubed braised pork belly, bonito powder, green onions. I actually liked this Mazesoba better than the one in Japan. The pork and the sauce were a little spicy but perfect for me.

Will come back again.

I'm a bit puzzled by the reviews for this place. I did appreciate the reviews that helped me choose one of their mazesoba options but I would not return. I decided to order the Tokyo. My husband ordered the Salmon. The concept is interesting, the noodles were fresh and had a good texture but the flavors were a combination that maybe is an acquired taste.
The salmon was fresh salmon poke but it had bonito flakes and like another Yelp reviewer stated, it was too fishy. If you'd like to try it, I recommend having them hold that ingredient.
My daughter enjoyed the karaage and agedashi tofu without bonito flakes.
The interior felt unpolished with its pink accents and blue ceilings. It felt almost like an order at the counter and seat yourself kind of restaurant.

Came on Sunday night ~8pm and waited around 40 minutes. Plenty of free parking various parking lots at this shopping center. For my first time having Mazesoba (Dry Ramen), I thoroughly enjoyed it. You also have the option to upgrade the amount of noodles (reg/xl/xxl) for free! However, there's also an option for free rice at the end of the meal to go with your sauce. So, up to you if you want to eat more noodles or end the meal with some rice.

Kaarage (5/5): This was the best kaarage I've ever had. Each piece of chicken thigh was so juicy and crispy. Highly recommend!

Zenbu (5/5): It makes sense why this is their signature Mazesoba. The spicy sauce did carry some heat so if you are sensitive, I recommend the original.

Mentaiko Cream (3/5): This was too fishy and creamy for me. They did have vinegar on the side to help cut through the fats but I didn't like this as much as other creamy mentaiko udons.

Salmon (2.5/5): When the mazesoba came, the raw salmon was on top but after mixing it together, it was a bit cooked. I didn't really like the half cooked/half raw salmon texture. The dish itself had a bit of a smokey flavor as well.

P.S. I really wanted to try the Hokkaido ice cream but they were already sold out

We were staying in downtown Vancouver and wanted some ramen, this was close to our hotel.
Clean and nicely decorated restaurant. Service was friendly.
Food was solid and pricing was fair. Ramen broth was rich but not salty. I liked that you could get more ramen noodles to add to any extra broth you might have.
A satisfying meal.

Had a pleasant meal here, it wasn't too oily which is usually my complaint with mazesoba.

We started with some karaage which was mediocre. I got the Tokyo mazesoba and added bamboo shoots, although I regretted not getting the Zenbu mazesoba which looked decadent. I stuck with the regular portion, and it was plenty of food for me. The toppings worked well with the noodles, which were an excellent texture, the meat adding a nice flavor to the noodles. I tried a bite of the salmon mazesoba which imo lacked flavor, would stick to a meat based dish that has more flavor.

We saw this unique brothless ramen place in vancouver and knew we wanted to try it. We came around 6pm on a monday night and the place was about half full. I got the zenbu mazesoba which includes toppings like chashu, minced pork, egg, seaweed, bamboo etc and it was pretty filling! The flavors blend really well and I liked the variety of ingredients since it was nice to try a little bit of everything. This place is comparable to mogu mogu in socal and they are similar. Prices are reasonable and I enjoyed my meal.

Never had anything quite like this savory, velvety bowl of noodles, and I'm so happy I tried it! The waitress recommended the Niku Mazesoba and it was delicious. I also got the green melon milk drink as it was BOGO free, it was nice and sweet and definitely something a child would love.

As for the noodles, think of it as a Japanese carbonara, with a nice coating on the noodles from the egg yolk as well as a bunch of aromatic mix ins like seaweed, garlic, and green onion. Add vinegar to cut the fattiness of the noodles and add some acidity.

So, so good!

I was recommended this place by a friend while I was in Vancouver, so I came here for dinner by myself.
It was around 7pm on a Friday, but I was able to get a table right away. There were quite a lot of couples and solo customers in the store. I ordered Zenbu Mazesoba from the chef's specials. I chose this because it's a mixed soba that has everything.
Service is quick and kind.
There are instructions on how to eat Mazesoba next to the chopstick holder on the table. Those who eat it for the first time should use it as a reference. I know the meaning of Mazesoba, so I mixed everything together first. If it's too oily, add vinegar, and if you want it spicier, add more pepper or chili pepper. The taste was too salty for me. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it all.

Sooooo good. Simple and yet such a flavor bomb. You gotta get the Zenbu mazesoba! It comes with a little bit of everything. You can also upgrade to XL or XXL for free. Would be great to save for another meal!

You can add vinegar to the sauce to help with the heaviness. Also, towards the end of the meal they ask if you want rice to mix with the remaining sauce.

I highly recommend getting the Hokkaido crème cone! Super yummy and great dessert to finish off the meal.

My partner has been raving about this restaurant so when we visited Canada, we knew we had to go together. The place itself was so cute and simple. Staff were super friendly and attentive to our needs.

I actually regretted ordering the ramen after trying the mazesoba because it was THAT good! Everything was delicious and the ice cream (Hokkaido crème cone) is a must try! I will definitely be back if I ever visit Canada again.